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thalassa_reading's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I fully expected to love this, and the writing was great but...
The mystery plot worked well enough, I really enjoyed Mossa's Holmes-level deductions and insights and also to some extent her antisocial aloofness. I did not follow the romance, within a day or so Preiti went from happy alone and resentful to be called on by her ex, to mothering sidekick who abandons her own life without a second thought to literally run after the woman she had broken up with previously.
Even more, I didn't get the worldbuilding - there are ominous gas storms continually and the surface is too corrosive for phone lines, but there are pigeons and grasshoppers, and people only wear an "atmoscarf"?? The world is not described in sufficient detail to understand it and doesn't make a lot of sense.
Finally, the science that goes into the villain plot is ludicrous to the point that I feel trolled.The author has solved the chicken and egg problem, you only need frozen cells to start an ecosystem!
The mystery plot worked well enough, I really enjoyed Mossa's Holmes-level deductions and insights and also to some extent her antisocial aloofness. I did not follow the romance, within a day or so Preiti went from happy alone and resentful to be called on by her ex, to mothering sidekick who abandons her own life without a second thought to literally run after the woman she had broken up with previously.
Even more, I didn't get the worldbuilding - there are ominous gas storms continually and the surface is too corrosive for phone lines, but there are pigeons and grasshoppers, and people only wear an "atmoscarf"?? The world is not described in sufficient detail to understand it and doesn't make a lot of sense.
Finally, the science that goes into the villain plot is ludicrous to the point that I feel trolled.
brendankailukaitis's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
vaenadal's review against another edition
4.0
I wish this book were a novel rather than a novella, because I wanted to know more about everything! The full backstory of escaping Earth and colonizing Jupiter would be fascinating and the mystery could have unfolded at a better pace (with more room for twists and turns?). But most importantly to me, the relationship between Pleiti and Mossa felt like it had the potential to be really complex, but the layers were only hinted at. Hopefully this series will be long, to make up for the individual entries being short!
catfactory's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Fun sci-fi mystery
amariebedd's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
especiallysarah's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
ireadqueerbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kaitalytic's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
katnortonwriter's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Admittedly, I had some stuff going on while I was reading this, so I may not have been as present as I'd like. That said, I enjoyed this world and this mystery, but I wanted more detail. I had a hard time picturing what was going on, or what this world looked like, or where things were relative to each other. It's so different from our world, and I felt like I had to fill in a lot of the gaps.
The overall conceit is really cool, though, and the writing style has a sort of sapphic Sherlock Holmes vibe... not just because of how the characters are described and interact, but because of the almost academic, intellectual writing style. The larger mystery has interesting implications, and I look forward to seeing how that plays out through the series. I'm not sure it was planned as a series, as I wouldn't say that there was a cliffhanger per se, but anyway I'll happily keep reading the adventures of these two.
The overall conceit is really cool, though, and the writing style has a sort of sapphic Sherlock Holmes vibe... not just because of how the characters are described and interact, but because of the almost academic, intellectual writing style. The larger mystery has interesting implications, and I look forward to seeing how that plays out through the series. I'm not sure it was planned as a series, as I wouldn't say that there was a cliffhanger per se, but anyway I'll happily keep reading the adventures of these two.